There is an increasing need for rapid, reliable, and inexpensive methods for detecting and measuring pollutants and contaminants in the environment and in food sources. Conventional analytical methods such as high pressure liquid chromatography, gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy, atomic absorption spectroscopy, etc. are particularly unsuitable for use in the field, because such methods are generally complex and employ instruments and equipment which are expensive and susceptible to damage from transport and possible contamination in the field. Gathering samples in the field for analysis at a remote laboratory is similarly unsatisfactory, because it may take a few days to several weeks from sample acquisition to obtain the results.
The need for simple, rapid, and inexpensive field assays has led to an investigation of immunoassays for surveying environmental contamination. Immunoassays comprise one category of specific binding assays, which generally rely on the affinity of naturally occurring receptors or antibodies for specific compounds. The specific binding pairs employed in immunoassays are either an antigen or a hapten, and the antibody produced in immune response to the antigen or hapten.
Competitive immunoassays are generally based upon the competition between a specific analyte, the amount of which is to be determined, and a labelled form of the analyte or an appropriate analog thereof, which is used as an indicator, for a limited number of available binding sites on a binding material specific for the analyte. Using a known amount of the labelled analyte, the amount of analyte in the sample can be determined by measuring the amount of the unbound labelled analyte, which in some systems is physically separated from the bound indicator during the assay. Alternatively, where it is possible to distinguish bound from unbound indicator, such as where detectable physical or chemical changes in the indicator occur as a result of the binding reaction, an assay can be completed without separating the bound and unbound indicator.
The types of materials commonly used as immunoassay label materials or markers include various enzymes, fluorescent dyes, chemiluminescent reactants, and radioisotopes. Such materials are often conjugated to the analyte, as in the case of enzymes and radioisotopes, or less frequently, carried within sacs such as animal erythrocytes, polymer microcapsules, or liposomes.
Immunoassays have been widely used for medical diagnosis for many years. More recently, immunoassays have been more broadly applied for the determination of toxic substances in the environment and in food. Practical applications for immunoassays in environmental analysis include evaluating the geographical scope and magnitude of pollutants, monitoring the fate and persistence of contaminants, and assessing the effectiveness of remediation efforts. Raw and processed foods must similarly be tested for chemical and biological contamination.
A wide variety of immunoassays, reagents, and test devices which exploit the interaction between the members of specific binding pairs to detect or measure a substance in a test sample have been developed.
Sophisticated, automated immunoassay systems are successfully employed in laboratory settings, but there are also many types of portable sensing devices which can be used outside the laboratory. Some portable immunoassays and test devices have even been developed for use in the home by untrained personnel. Home pregnancy test kits are an example of such immunoassay test kits.
An immunochromatographic assay method for whole blood samples is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,327 to Zuk. At least one member of the specific binding pair is uniformly bound to the entire surface of a solid bibulous element. The element is contacted with the whole blood sample containing the analyte in an aqueous medium so that the sample traverses the element to define a border related to the amount of analyte. The analyte concentration is directly related to the distance the analyte has traversed. Zuk further describes determination of the border by a separate development step, such as an enzyme or chromophore signal production and amplification system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,987 to Olson also describes an immunoassay employing a bibulous element such as a piece of paper affixed to plastic with adhesive. The element is contacted with the test solution suspected of containing the analyte, to which has been added an antibody for the analyte and a conjugate of the analyte and a label. The element contains a first receptor for the conjugate which is bound to a situs on the element separated from the contact portion, and a second receptor capable of binding the antibody for the analyte, which is bound to the element between the first receptor and the contact portion. The test solution moves along the element by capillary action. The situs is examined for the presence of conjugate, either by exposing the situs to a signal producing means capable of interacting with the label to produce a signal in a separate development step, such as an enzyme-catalyst-substrate system, or by directly measuring the signal from a radioactive label.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,939,098 to Suzuki, et al. discloses an immunoassay device for simultaneous determination of at least two components in a sample. At least two reagents, each of which reacts specifically with one of the components in the sample, are supported in optional places on a development layer. Residual components in the sample which do not react with the reagent first contacted by the sample continue to be moved past the place on the development layer where the first reagent is supported. After the movement of the unreacted components past each of the reagent places, the amount of the two reaction products still held in the development layer are measured. Test reagents may be included in liposomes, which are immobilized on the development layer by physical adsorption or chemical bonding.
In Suzuki, a detectable label substance such as a chelating agent, an enzyme or a fluorescent substance may be enclosed in the liposomes in addition to the antibody or antigen test reagents for qualitative or quantitative analysis of sample components. The liposomes or other label sacs are lysed by the antigen-antibody reaction or complementary activity, to release label for detection or quantification. Suzuki further describes an electric measurement method in which the liposomes contain a substance detectable with electrodes. A solution of the liposomes is removed from the development layer, and the amount of the component to be measured is quantified from the amount of signal in the electrode.
As a result of the complexity of the device and method described in Suzuki, Suzuki's technique is not well-suited for use in the field, or for use by untrained personnel. High voltage is required for the electrophoretic separation method, for example.
Immunoassays employing liposomes for signal production are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,874,710 to Piran and 4,703,017 to Campbell. In Piran, the sample containing the analyte is contacted with a binder for the analyte in the presence of a conjugate of a ligand coupled to a sac lysing agent. The ligand may be designed to bind either with the analyte or the binder. Unbound conjugate, which includes a sac lysing agent, comes into contact with immobilized liposomes, which release a detectable marker. Signal from the marker is measured in the aqueous assay medium. The binder and sacs may be placed on different portions of a solid support, such as a "dip stick" which may be inserted into and withdrawn from the assay medium.
Campbell discloses an immunoassay for determination of an analyte using a tracer, such as the analyte labelled with liposome-encapsulated markers. The tracer can be visually determined without instrumentation and without further treatment of the tracer (such as sac lysing). A binder for at least one of the analyte and the tracer is supported on a test area of a solid support, which is preferably nitrocellulose in the form of a card, test strip, or dipstick. Detection or quantification of the signal, e.g., color from a dye, is made in the test area of the device. Competitive, sandwich, and inhibition embodiments of the assay are disclosed.
In view of the above-noted deficiencies and complexities of prior techniques for use as rapid, reliable, and simple field assays, the need remains for technology which will accurately detect and determine analytes such as environmental and food contaminants.